For the vast majority of her pregnancy, the prolific striker trained as she normally would — with high-intensity workout sessions six days per week.

Alex Morgan embraces her teammates during the 2019 World Cup in France.
AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino

One of the most widely recognized stars on the US Women's National Team and in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL), Morgan was public with her ambitious intention to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics despite having a due date merely three months prior to the start of the Games. So, before the coronavirus pandemic forced the International Olympic Committee to postpone the Games by a full calendar year, the 30-year-old committed herself to stay in shape so she could bounce back and rejoin her USWNT teammates in Tokyo.

"We can only hypothesize over so much uncertainty in the future," Morgan told Glamour's Macaela MacKenzie in a recent interview. "If I have no goal to try to achieve, then that's not true to the core of who I am."

MacKenzie reported that Morgan continued a fitness regimen including on-field practice sessions, weight training, Spin classes, runs, and more up until she was seven months pregnant.

Clips of the two-time World Cup champion and Olympic gold medalist completing soccer drills and ripping shots on goal while visibly pregnant circulated on social media. Some fans speculated that it was a sign that she would be ready for the Olympics come July.

Once seven months came and went, however, Morgan began to dial back her fitness plan. She stepped off the pitch for the time being and substituted tough runs with regular jogs and physical therapy. She also told MacKenzie that she participated in pelvic-floor physical therapy as well as prenatal yoga.

"Casual fans of the game were just like, 'Why would she do something like that during the peak of her career?'" Morgan said of the response to her pregnancy announcement. "It's not like women can't do both—our bodies are incredible—it's the fact that this world isn't really set up for women to thrive."

"I thought to myself, I have the support in place to be able to come back," she added. "There's no reason for me to stop just to start a family."